Marc Andreessen To Big, Old Media: You're Screwed

Herb Allen kindly invited Ning's Marc Andreessen up to
Sun Valley to bump elbows with the biggest of Big Media moguls.
And look how he behaved! DealBook:

In a morning panel session titled “Looking Around the Corner to
the Future” – which, like all meetings here are closed to the
press – Mr. Andreessen told the audience, which included many
executives from the so-called “old media” world, that non-digital
businesses are toast.

“He said, ‘If you have old media, you should sell,’” according to
one attendee, who spoke anonymously because the sessions are
off-the-record. “If you own newspapers, sell. If you own TV
stations, sell. If you own a movie studio, sell.”

The early verdict? The emerging consensus is that Yahoo
shareholders may be prepared to take even less than the $33 per
share previously proposed by Microsoft, with some whispering that
they might even accept as little as $31.50 per share. And the
feeling is that Carl Icahn, the activist investor who wants Yahoo
to sell itself to Microsoft, would be likely to accept at such
prices.

“He just needs a number that starts with a three,” one mogul said
of Mr. Icahn, who paid about $25 a share for his Yahoo stake.